By IlliniGuys Staff
April 29, 2026
It was the icing on the cake for Illinois men's basketball during Final Four week.
A program that has been clawing for the past decade and a half to reclaim relevance on the national scene had finally made it; a season of high expectations dampened by late-game failures in close situations had broken through with four straight double-digit wins to reach college basketball's final weekend for the first time in 21 years.
With the nation's attention firmly set on them, the announcement came just moments before the Illini took . . .
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